Wireless communication devices have recently evolved from a technology used by an elite segment of the population to a technology that is used by the masses. In the year 2000, it has been estimated that well over 100 million people in the United States alone subscribed to at least one type of wireless communication service. Worldwide, the number of wireless communication device users has reached a staggering number and is growing all of the time. In the near future, it is envisioned that almost everyone will own or use some sort of wireless communication device that is capable of performing a variety of functions.
In addition to traditional wireless communication devices, many different types of portable electronic devices are in use today. In particular, notebook computers, palm-top computers, and personal digital assistants (PDA) are commonplace. The use of wireless communication devices is widespread and it is expected that in the near future combined mobile telephone/PDA devices will be widely used by the masses. Currently, most of these devices are only used by a small segment of the population due, in large part, to the fact that there are a limited number of applications and services available for such devices.
The Internet has become a widely used medium for providing business information in a variety of forms that are targeted to various types of individuals and businesses. Generally speaking, one of the problems associated with searching for business information on specific products and services using the Internet is being able to locate relevant business information for products and services that are available in a geographic area that is located near the user. As such, a need exists for a way to provide a broad range of business information and content to wireless communication devices and workstations that are based on the respective geographic location of the communication device at the time the information is requested.
In addition, most users of wireless communication devices would like the ability to use natural language when requesting information and content. Typical speech recognition applications require a developer to create an all-encompassing grammar that itemizes each possible way a person could utter any given concept or request. While this enables a system to recognize content contained in an utterance, it places a significant burden on the developer both before and after the system is deployed. As such, a need exists for a natural language processing application that does not require significant setup and maintenance. Additionally, due to the various speech patterns and utterances, it is currently impossible to obtain a near 100% successful recognition of utterances. While current speech recognition engines are tuned to interpret sound, they cannot interpret meaning or understanding of context.